Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 7.7 million extremely low-income renters were spending more than half of their limited incomes on housing costs, sacrificing other necessities such as health care and groceries to do so. Millions of renters were one financial shock away from housing instability. For many, the pandemic and consequential economic fallout was that shock.

In response to the increasing risk of a housing instability crisis, INHS developed its own COVID-19 Rental Assistance Program, with funding assistance from NYS Homes and Community Renewal, Tompkins County, and Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency, designed to help renters with up to three months of rent relief across Schuyler, Seneca, Tioga, and Tompkins counties. Over the course of just one year, the program helped 155 households with over $430,000 in rental assistance. 

While the Rental Assistance Program was by no means the solution to the hardships faced by community members, it helped alleviate pressure for many. Tariq and his family lost their primary source of income when the pandemic closed Cornell University’s campus and were struggling to pay for both groceries and rent. Thanks to INHS’s Rental Assistance Program, Tariq was able to prioritize feeding his family.

“It was definitely a great relief,” said Tariq. “In the midst of this pandemic, this help really meant a lot to me. When I received the email regarding the [rental assistance] approval, it was like out of this world. I showed that email to my wife and our kids and I told them, ‘There are good people in this world.’”

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